Invst LLC Takes $748,000 Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• Invst LLC has recently acquired a stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc., purchasing 2,441 shares valued at approximately $748,000.
• Essex Property Trust's stock has experienced target price adjustments from several analysts, with an average price target of $298.41 and a rating of "Hold".
• A quarterly dividend of $2.57 has been announced for stockholders, representing an annualized yield of 3.8%.

Invst LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,441 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $748,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,629 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,014 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $860,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $192,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 190.3% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 16,033 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,576,000 after buying an additional 10,510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $289,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS traded up $1.52 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $267.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 123,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 478,999. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock's 50-day moving average is $269.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $279.80. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $243.85 and a one year high of $316.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.24 billion, a PE ratio of 21.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.82 and a beta of 0.83.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.99 by $0.04. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 43.51%.The firm had revenue of $465.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $466.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.94 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 3.890-3.990 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 15.800-16.020 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ESS shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $335.00 to $298.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $320.00 to $309.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $285.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $298.66.

About Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust, Inc, an S&P 500 company, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 252 apartment communities comprising approximately 62,000 apartment homes with an additional property in active development.